Bill > S2267

Introduced Session

This bill requires private health insurance plans, the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP), the School Employees Health Benefits Program (SEHBP), and the NJ FamilyCare program to cover the services of a qualified sign language interpreter during a medical encounter for an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing. A "qualified sign language interpreter" is defined as an interpreter, preferably with expertise in medical interpreting, who is certified by the New Jersey Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf or by an accredited certifying organization designated by the Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Department of Human Services. The bill also establishes a minimum reimbursement rate of $42.40 per hour for sign language interpreter services provided during a medical encounter for NJ FamilyCare enrollees, and $42.53 when such services are provided for an individual covered under the SHBP or the SEHBP. Under the bill, sign language interpreter services would be provided upon the request of a patient who is deaf or hard of hearing. Video remote interpreter services also would be covered, provided in person interpreter services are not available. The bill stipulates that interpreter services will not be covered in situations in which such services are provided by a family member or friend of the requester, unless: 1. the family member or friend is a qualified sign language interpreter; and 2. the individual requesting sign language interpreter services consents to having the family member or friend interpret during the medical encounter; or 3. the individual who is deaf or hard of hearing is a minor, and the child's parent or legal guardian is present and agrees to interpret during the medical encounter. In cases of suspected domestic violence, a health care provider is prohibited from allowing a family member to serve as a sign language interpreter during a health care encounter for an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing; rather, the bill requires the health care provider to provide a qualified sign language interpreter or video remote interpreter services during the encounter. In cases of suspected child abuse or neglect by a parent or legal guardian, the health care provider may not permit the parent or guardian to serve as a sign language interpreter for a minor child who is deaf or hard of hearing. The bill instead requires the health care provider to provide a qualified sign language interpreter for the child during the encounter. NJ FamilyCare coverage of, and the reimbursement rate for, interpreter services will be contingent upon federal approval of the State's application for any requisite Medicaid or CHIP waivers or state plan amendments. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Pub.L.101-336 (42 U.S.C., s. 12101 et seq.) and federal regulations grant individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing the legal right to equal access to, and an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from, health care. Federal regulations permit the use of sign language interpreters as one of the acceptable "auxiliary aids and services" that medical providers are required to furnish to ensure accessible and effective communication with patients who are deaf or hard of hearing. Federal regulations prohibit medical providers from billing patients for the provision of sign language interpretation; rather, medical providers are advised to treat expenditures on interpreter services as an administrative or an overhead cost of their practice. The ADA provides a limited exemption for medical providers who demonstrate that furnishing a specific auxiliary aid or service, as requested by a patient with a disability, would present an undue burden or cause a fundamental change in the nature of the provider's services and goods. In such instances, however, the ADA stipulates that the medical provider must furnish an alternative auxiliary aid or service that would not present an undue burden and would facilitate effective provider-patient communications. It is the sponsor's intent to codify existing federal requirements concerning sign language interpreter services to ensure that private health insurance plans, the SHBP, the SEHBP, and the NJ FamilyCare program, cover sign language interpreter services during medical encounters for enrollees who are deaf or hard of hearing.

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Teresa Ruiz (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document